A study from the University of Akron has found that mums who work full time are less stressed than those who work part time or not at all. They also reported better physical and mental health.
Another study by Sarah Damaske took samples of saliva from 122 men and women throughout the day, and found that levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, spiked when they were at home.
These results support the claim that mums use work as a way of escaping the stresses of home life. Damanske explains how the stresses we experience at home are more important to us than troubles we experience at work, which explains the rise in cortisol:
“You still know that you can quit [your job], you can look for something else, that you can leave -- leave your boss and your bad day behind. Those aren't exactly strategies that you have for home, right? Most of us aren't going to up and leave our families because they're stressful, although most people's families are stressful from time to time.”
